With Piranha 3D set to hit theater screens this Friday, director Alexandre Aja isn't wasting any time choosing his next project. According to Deadline, the acclaimed horror auteur is set to helm Cobra-The Space Pirate, a big screen adaptation of the Buichi Terasawa created Japanese manga-turned popular animated series.

Aja plans to turn the property into a tent pole-sized live action franchise. The story follows a space pirate named Cobra who refuses to align with either the United Galaxies Federation or the Pirates Guild, which results in a huge bounty being placed on his head. Hoping to stay one foot ahead of his captors, Cobra teams up with another bounty hunter named Jane who is searching for her sisters in order to decode a treasure map that has been tattooed onto their backs. Together, Cobra and Jane hope to secure a lost treasure hidden somewhere on Mars.

About the project, Alexandre had this to say:

"I grew up dreaming about Cobra-The Space Pirate. My day was, finish school, run home and switch on the TV and I was hardly the only one. Kids did it in France, Italy, Spain, all over Western Europe. For many people there is Star Wars and nothing else, but for me and my writing partner, there is Star Wars and Cobra. I am so surprised it never crossed the ocean and made the same impact in the U.S., because it is so big everywhere else. There are 60 books, a lot of TV animation and so many adventures, pirates and bad guys that it is perfect to be reinvented into a really cool space opera adventure franchise for a new generation."

Aja is currently shopping the film around to different financiers. His hopes too start production on the film shortly, and that he can shoot it in 3D.

If you are looking for a sci-fic story which has more" Stuff " than Starwars, this is got to be the one, but sadly, they picked the director of Piranha 3D to do the job, I wish James Cameron can take over and he will surely turn Cobra-The Space Pirate into a master piece.